Comment / Op-Ed Columnists - Tepco makes Lehman seem a mere bagatelle. Does India Need a Right to Toilets Act? - India Real Time. Currencies - Yen action sets scene for return of carry trade. HEARD ON THE STREET: Yen for Japanese Currency May Fade. Global insight - Woes bring out best and worst of nation. FT Trading Room / Markets Regulation - Traders seek answers on US derivatives reform. Comment / Opinion - Nuclear power halted in its tracks. Middle East & North Africa - UAE offers poor states $1.5bn. In depth - Rival siblings with armed militias at their disposal. Middle East & North Africa - Opaque Libyan fund built diverse portfolio. Middle East & North Africa - Calls grow for scrutiny of family’s finances. Middle East & North Africa - Bahrain to pay a price for unrest. Companies / Airlines - Garuda shares slump on debut.
John R. Malott: The Price of Malaysia's Racism. RBA May Keep Rate Unchanged With Floods `Elephant in the Room' The Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to keep interest rates unchanged tomorrow as policy makers survey the economic damage and inflation-accelerating effects of floods across the nation’s east coast. Governor Glenn Stevens and his board will leave the overnight cash rate target at 4.75 percent in Sydney, according to all 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Prime Minister Julia Gillard is proposing a one-time levy on taxable income of more than A$50,000 ($49,443) to help pay for flood reconstruction.
Treasurer Wayne Swan predicts the deluge’s A$1 billion in farm losses will lift fruit and vegetable costs, causing a temporary surge in food prices. The RBA may tolerate quicker inflation and slower growth because the economy decelerated in the second half of last year after seven rate increases from October 2009 to November 2010. “We had a pretty brutal interest-rate regime last year,” Bill Evans, chief economist at Westpac Banking Corp., said in a Bloomberg Television interview. Soofian J. Zuberi: Asia's Bond Market Comes Alive. Comment / Opinion - The Japanese debt disaster movie. Japan - Rethinking Japan’s white-collar hiring. Asia-Pacific - Indonesian leader orders corruption probes. Moody's Raises Indonesia Rating.
Laos Launches Stock Exchange. Emerging Markets - Why Indonesia deserves a credit upgrade. Vietnam news. China. Markets / Asia-Pacific - Laos Securities Exchange to start trading.